AR cleaning
- Thread starter Onagoth
- Start date
ThePunisher
CGN Regular
- Location
- Belleville/Kingston Ontario
I'm actually curious - what do you guys do for the 90 minutes? Serious - what does this hour and a half cleaning entail? It only takes a couple of minutes to strip an AR, and maybe ten minutes to throw all the small parts in a bin and clean them with a brush and whatever cleaner you use. The barrel and chamber, at best can't be more than 20 minutes. Thats about 30 minutes - what do you do for the other hour?
Depends what kind of cleaning. If it's pre-firing maintanence, it only takes me 10 min to pull through the barrel, wiped down the parts and lubricate the metal-on-metal (moving)parts of the mechanism. If it's post-firing, I have two methods of cleaning it. Before I actually clean, I let CLP soak into the weapon for a half hour or so thereby raising most the carbon out of the weapon for ease of cleaning.
1. Fast and Furious: Field strip. Consistant repetitive scrubing of carbon residue affected parts but cleaning each part in reverse order succession of disassembly. Final action is drying majority of the rifle and lightly lubricating all moving parts. Takes approx. 30 min.
2. Maxed Relaxed: Full Disassemble. Like above but; elaborate cleaning of all parts in a measured manner taking due consideration and time and cleaning every crevice that would be the least bit dirty. I always pop in a movie while I'm doing this so my full attention isn't just on the rifle and thus it has taken me no less than 90 min to clean my rifle, for the obvious reason that I'm watching a movie too.
I always do pre-firing and post-firing maintanence, and only seldomly would I ever clean my rifle during firing in which case I would have to be firing more than 2000 rounds at one range outing. In which case it would just be a quick dose of CLP followed by a wipe down and then lubrication of moving parts. Takes 5 min or less.
1. Fast and Furious: Field strip. Consistant repetitive scrubing of carbon residue affected parts but cleaning each part in reverse order succession of disassembly. Final action is drying majority of the rifle and lightly lubricating all moving parts. Takes approx. 30 min.
2. Maxed Relaxed: Full Disassemble. Like above but; elaborate cleaning of all parts in a measured manner taking due consideration and time and cleaning every crevice that would be the least bit dirty. I always pop in a movie while I'm doing this so my full attention isn't just on the rifle and thus it has taken me no less than 90 min to clean my rifle, for the obvious reason that I'm watching a movie too.
I always do pre-firing and post-firing maintanence, and only seldomly would I ever clean my rifle during firing in which case I would have to be firing more than 2000 rounds at one range outing. In which case it would just be a quick dose of CLP followed by a wipe down and then lubrication of moving parts. Takes 5 min or less.
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I usually clean it every 500 or so rounds. I take about 1/2 hour while watching TV.
Cleaning an AR is not complicated or time consuming and does not need to be done as often as people think or every range trip, unless someone is putting hundreds of rounds down every time. The big Army teaches detailed spotless cleaning after a hundred round qualifier, this is simply ingrained but, usually not necessary. In fact, their are numerous articles detailing how excessive cleaning can actually damage your rifle.
To each their own though. You shelled out good money for your rifle and can clean it however and, as much as you like.
Cleaning an AR is not complicated or time consuming and does not need to be done as often as people think or every range trip, unless someone is putting hundreds of rounds down every time. The big Army teaches detailed spotless cleaning after a hundred round qualifier, this is simply ingrained but, usually not necessary. In fact, their are numerous articles detailing how excessive cleaning can actually damage your rifle.
To each their own though. You shelled out good money for your rifle and can clean it however and, as much as you like.
excessive improper cleaning....
1 1/2 hours to clean..........wholly fark.
Here's is my routine when I think it is dirty.
1. Non-chlorinated Brake cleaner sprayed on the important bits
2. Wipe important bits off
3. G96 metal parts
4. Done
5. After 1000 rounds or so I scrub the bore with a copper solvent......such as ammonia. Spray a shot of G96 done the bore, put some patches through.
That's it, that's all folks.
Here's is my routine when I think it is dirty.
1. Non-chlorinated Brake cleaner sprayed on the important bits
2. Wipe important bits off
3. G96 metal parts
4. Done
5. After 1000 rounds or so I scrub the bore with a copper solvent......such as ammonia. Spray a shot of G96 done the bore, put some patches through.
That's it, that's all folks.
Seem to be a broad spectrum of answers here, I'm right in the middle. Clean after each use... usually ends up being the next day. probably 30min start to finish. Hoppes for bore, and really dirty bits, then CLP everywhere. soft wipe down to get excess CLP off, and it goes in the safe.
on occasion I will do a full strip and detail clean every little bit... but that's the same for any of my guns, I enjoy doing a detail cleaning and re-assembly, but don't think I need to everytime
on occasion I will do a full strip and detail clean every little bit... but that's the same for any of my guns, I enjoy doing a detail cleaning and re-assembly, but don't think I need to everytime
I clean all my guns under the following circumstances:
-It starts to malfunction (ie: with my GLOCK, when the slide stop fails to engage with an empty round)
-When "it just doesn't feel right" i.e. my AR feels like it's grinding sand when I pull on the charging handle
-When it's been through wet conditions
-I feel bored and don't have any more reloading components
-It starts to malfunction (ie: with my GLOCK, when the slide stop fails to engage with an empty round)
-When "it just doesn't feel right" i.e. my AR feels like it's grinding sand when I pull on the charging handle
-When it's been through wet conditions
-I feel bored and don't have any more reloading components
Gunnerlove
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver Island
Were we on the same basic?
I guess I am lazy.
After shooting I pull the carrier and spray it and the upper with WD40. When I get home the rifle might get 15 mins of cleaning, after a few thousand rounds (or before a comp) I will clean the bore, crown and chamber. It would fail inspection but it keeps going and going.
